Blood Stains
by sami1010220
Summary: Blood stained his past, and with war on the horizon, there was bound to be more in his future. Was there no escaping it? Harry is going to find out. SLASH!


Disclaimer : harry potter and co. do not pay my bills!

A/N : hi everyone! Yes, I have a new fic, and (in my opinion) it is much better than the other two I've written. Oooh, this is soo exciting! Please R&R, I'd love to hear what you think!

BLOOD STAINS

Chapter 1: Welcome to Hogwarts

Taking a sip from the cup of tea that was placed before him, Mathew Evans studied the man in front of him for the first time in "two years". He had changed a great deal. He still had white, almost silver hair, with a beard that almost touched the ground. His half-moon glasses were still perched on his long nose. Yet there was something different. A sadness, that seemed to have dimmed the once everlasting twinkle in those piercing blue eyes. He still looked powerful, but he also looked tired and wary.

Looking up from the application forms, the blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore looked up to meet his. "You seem as if you would do well for the job, Mr. Evans, but there are some questions I would like to ask you before we continue further. Why Hogwarts?"

Looking up at the headmaster through his chocolate colored eyes, Mathew said, "I heard, Mr. Dumbledore, that you have a reputation for hiring … different kinds of people."

Dumbledore nodded, twinkle momentarily back in his eyes. "Yes, I do seem to have a tendency to hire different types of people for this position. But how would I be able to ensure the safety of our students?"

"I can assure you, Mr. Dumbledore, that I am perfectly safe. I am not a pureblood, and I plan to take all other necessary precautions, most of which I believe are listed on my application."

Dumbledore looked down at the papers once more, before sticking his hand out and smiling. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mr. Evans."

* * *

Mathew Evans walked the halls of Hogwarts in search of his new room. It was supposed to be on the third floor, but he was having a hard time finding it. Spending so much time away from here, he was not used to the moving staircases, which seemed to have a grudge against him and kept putting him exactly where he did not want to be. Giving up with a frustrated sigh, he headed for the first floor, towards Dumbledore's office. Despite the fact that he had reassured the headmaster that he would find his way to the room, he was horribly lost, having only been in that level of the school a couple of times since his second year. 

It wasn't until he reached the headmaster's door that he realized that he didn't know the password.

"Uhhh…chocolate frogs? No? Well, how about sherbet lemon? Frizzbe Wizzbe? Lemon drops? Marz bars? Hershey's kisses?"

"What are you doing?" Mathew turned to find a pale man with shoulder length greasy hair and a crooked nose talking to him in a mocking tone. The man's robes billowed as he moved to stand next to Mathew and in front of the gargoyle statue.

"I need to see the headmaster."

The man raised an eyebrow. "And he didn't give you the password?"

Mathew winced inwardly. This was probably not the best way to meet a future coworker. "I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Mathew Evans. I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Indeed." The man looked over him for a minute, before reluctantly taking Mathews offered hand. "Severus Snape, potions master."

"A pleasure I'm sure," Mathew said with a smirk.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "So, you were looking for the headmaster?"

"Yes, do you know the password Mr. Snape?"

"Severus is fine. And yes, I do. The headmaster trusts me, unlike some." He said the password (which was cockroach clusters) and lead Mathew up a staircase to a wooden door. Knocking, they heard the voice of the headmaster telling them to come in.

"Ah, Mr. Evans, I did not expect to see you here so soon. Were you able to find your room?"

Mathew had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "I'm afraid not. The staircases are continuously putting me on the fifth level, though I'm not sure why."

"Well, I'm sure that Severus here wouldn't mind leading you to your room, or at least the floor that it is on, after I have a brief word with him." Replied the headmaster with humor in his eyes. Severus sent him a sharp glance, but otherwise made no move to refuse the offer.

Mathew nodded, and walked back to wait at the statue of the stone gargoyle until the two were done talking.

* * *

"I don't trust him."

Sighing, the headmaster tried to placate him. "Severus, he is fine as of right now. He is perfectly qualified, and he will not harm the students."

"How do you know? How are you able to tell that he will not attack? Headmaster, it was different hiring a werewolf. Although I was opposed to that idea from the start, they are only dangerous once a month!"

"Severus, I understand your concern for the students, but Mathew Evans will not harm anyone. He has taken necessary precautions, attended a wizard school when he was younger, and though this would normally not be enough, he demonstrated skills that I think are enough to get him this job at the very least."

"But Albus, I –"

Dumbledore held out his hand to stop Severus from speaking. "We can continue this conversation later Severus, but I believe that the subject of our conversation is downstairs waiting to be shown to his room."

Severus looked as if he wanted to argue, but decided not to. With a sharp nod, he walked through the door.

Albus only had a moment's peace before the fireplace lit up. Turning, Dumbledore was met with the face of Remus Lupin. "Ah, hello Remus. How are you doing?"

"Perfectly well, thanks Albus. I just wanted to fire call you and say that I will be arriving in about a two weeks."

"That's a week before school begins, is it not?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, both Snuffles and I will be there."

"Wonderful! Well, how shall you be arriving?"

"Actually Albus, I was hoping that you would make us a portkey to get us to edge of the grounds, and we could just walk the rest of the way up."

"That would be fine, but are you sure that you would have the energy to do so a day after the full moon?"

Remus waved off his concern. "I'll be fine Albus. Like I said, I'll have Snuffles with me, so I should be perfectly fine."

"And how is Snuffles Remus?"

Remus looked extremely wary at this question. "Not so well. He is borderline depressed Albus. I was hoping that helping me at the school would be a good way to keep his mind off of things."

"Yes, I was hoping that also," agreed the headmaster with a sad look in his eyes.

"So, you will send me the portkey through owl?"

"Yes, you should get it by tomorrow. Safe traveling Remus."

"Goodbye headmaster." And with that, Remus disappeared, leaving Dumbledore to work on some paperwork.

* * *

Mathew could tell that Severus was walking at a slower pace than he usually did so that Mathew would not feel rushed, but Mathew continued to walk at the rate at which he pleased. He planed on getting information from Severus, and he wouldn't be able to get that if they went to his room quickly.

"So Severus, how do things run at the castle?"

"Things here go pretty smooth. I'm assuming you know about the different houses?" at Mathew's nod, he continued. "Well, there is usually much .. competition between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws are pretty neutral, or at least try to be, though during quidditch there is an all out war between all of the houses. And then of course, with that Potter brat missing, things have been especially tense."

Mathew shot him a sharp glance. "Potter, as in Harry Potter?"

Severus sneered at the mere thought of him. "Yes, _the_ Harry Potter, Gryffindor's golden child. In case you've been living under a rock, he went missing about two years ago. No one knows what happened, but the muggles he lived with claim to know nothing. Say they sent the boy out on errands, and that he never came back. Sounds just like him, of course. Perfect Potter, probably just trying to get attention, though he's believed to be dead by most."

Mathew looked pensive, but continued with the interrogation. "And how is this affecting the school?"

"Potter's rambunctious friends are always starting fights with Slytherins, though it is a good excuse to take off points."

"And the Slytherins don't instigate those fights?" Mathew asked with a raised eyebrow. Seeing as Severus looked offended, Mathew continued. "I may not know anything about your house Severus, and I'm sorry if I offended you by making such a generalization, but I just can't imagine anyone starting fights with just anyone because they were angry."

Severus sneered again. "Yes, well, these are Gryffindors we are talking about. They are probably also sore because a former Gryffindor is the one who is suspected to have taken Potter."

Mathew was intrigued. "And who would that be?"

"Why, Sirius Black of course."

Mathew paled. "Sirius Black, Potter's godfather?"

Severus threw him a glance. "Yes, though not many know that he was supposed to be Potter's guardian."

Mathew quickly regained his composure as they reached his room. "Thank you for showing me to my room Severus, and for indulging me in the happenings of the school."

"It was my pleasure," said Severus sarcastically, though Mathew was only able to catch it because he knew the man so well. "The password is Skittles, but you are free to change it if you wish." With a nod and a suspicious glare, Severus stalked down the corridor as he normally would and turned the corner, allowing Mathew to enter his room.

The room was nice, if not plain. The floor was wood, as was the bed. The walls and sheets were the same dark blue color, perfect for Mathew's taste. There was a desk in the corner of the room and a wardrobe not far from the bed, both matching the floor.

Putting the few things he carried up with him on the bed (the house elves had already brought most of his things to the room), Mathew walked into the bathroom, planning on taking a very long, relaxing bath. The floor was wood also, but the bathtub and such were made of a beautiful marble. Taking off his shoes by the door, he sat down on the floor, absorbing everything that Severus had told him. After a minute or two, he got up and went to the front of the mirror to get ready for that bath he promised himself he would have.

Moving in front of the mirror, he brought his finger to his eye and took out his brown contacts to reveal the most brilliant pair of emerald eyes.

* * *

A/N : okay, so how was it? not so bad for my first chapter huh? i knew it! this is just my "test chapter", to see how everyone likes the story. i probably won't update until i have at least five or six of the chapters done (a couple of months? please be patient!). so how is it? too long? too short? horrible grammer? if you don't tell me, i can't fix it, so please read and review!

sami


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